Pristine Urine!

One day after surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. I know it's from the exceptional narcotics I've been receiving, but it's still pretty remarkable to me. I suppose age has quite a bit to do with it. Which all the medical professionals told me when starting this process, youth was on my side.

So the surgery went well. I received some blood during the operation, which was normal; I'm just a 'bleeder.' (I was also low on hemoglobin and iron, from cancer.) The great thing is I got laparoscopic surgery, which means a speedier recovery. From the start of this 'journey,' the surgeon thought he would have to do open surgery because of the adhesions from my previous bout of cancer, and the location of the new cancer was in the same area as the old.

Last night about 4 hours after surgery, I managed to walk the entire floor two and a half times. I was surprised at my ability, and so was most of the nursing staff. I am determined to push myself because lying around in a hospital bed is miserable. The highlight of the night was when the night nurse emptied my foley (catheter) and called my urine pristine. She and the techs also commented on the sheer volume of urine. If you know me, you know that I'm 'extra about a lot of things.' Anyway, I've set a standard, and here I am, trying to maintain the pristine standard. I spent the rest of the night going in and out of sleep. Surprisingly I woke up feeling rested.

Today I had an epic breakfast and a visit from occupational therapy and physical therapy. The therapists were impressed with my progress and said, you've graduated and given me a couple of tips for moving around and taking care of myself.

Walking seems to be a good thing to do to occupy my time. So far, I have a total of 7 laps around the floor and hope to get 8 to 10 more before I go to bed. After that, I will see how well I feel.

I had a pleasant visit from Karen. Unfortunately, we seldom get one on one time together anymore. Too bad it took cancer to get that quality time (and for someone to recognize my 'pristine urine.')

Pain management is crucial, and I've been doing an excellent job of staying ahead of the pain. As a result, I'm stiff but surprisingly mobile. The other huge checkboxes checked are that I could urinate sans catheter and had two bowel movements. So it seems that everything is clicking along.

I want to apologize for all the poop content, but a guy with colon cancer is writing this blog, so poop content you'll get, but not if it's unnecessary.

Thanks for following along. Keep the prayers and vibes coming.